The Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) says the arraignment of the coordinator of Benue Livestock Guards, Alhaji Tershaku, and some of his members by the police for the murder of the two Catholic priests and 17 parishioners in the state a couple of weeks ago is a sham and travesty of justice.

Briefing newsmen yesterday in Makurdi, its president general, Comrade Timothy Hembaor, stated that the action was another expression of hatred for the state’s anti-grazing and tacit support for the herdsmen and their sponsors.

His words: “The arraignment of the coordinator and members of the guards, many of who were killed in the New Year attacks, is an attempt to brand the victims as the aggressors.

“It is clear that the police high command has openly expressed opposition to the law and its implementation.”

Hembaor called on the indigenes and Nigerians to reject the arraignment, which he termed a charade.

He went on: “It is a collusion among the police, presidency and the Fulani ethnic group to change the Benue narrative.

“Survivors of the Mbalom church massacre know their killers. Benue people also know their killers. These killers are sponsored by the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore led by Abdulahi Bello Bodejo and Saleh Alhassan. These sponsors are also supported by several Fulani groups, including the Fulani Nationality Movement.

“The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore held a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 where it threatened to invade and take over the Benue valley.

“Leaders of the Fulani Nationality Movement also held a similar meeting in Kano on January 13, 2018. In their widely circulated communiqué, they threatened to carry out a jihad in Benue and other states in Nigeria.”

Hembaor recalled that the unarmed guards were inaugurated last year by Governor Samuel Ortom to assist in implementing the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranching Establishment Law 2017.